


The Right One

by CupcakeGirlA



Category: Olympics RPF, Real Person Fiction, Sports RPF, Swimming RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-08
Updated: 2012-09-08
Packaged: 2017-11-13 20:14:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/507309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CupcakeGirlA/pseuds/CupcakeGirlA
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: USA swimming: Michael Phelps/Allison Schmitt. Michael tries to convince Allison to have babies with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Right One

At first Allison doesn’t think anything of it. Mike’s always been around, even post retirement. He still owned half of NBAC, and he still kept his home-base in Baltimore. Staying fit was part of the post-competitive plan, so he was in the pool often, if not regularly. He was in the water when he wanted to be, because he loved it, not because it was his job, or he was being ordered in by Bob or Peter. So yeah they’d stayed close. He was still Mike and she was still Schmitty and she wouldn’t have it any other way. When she’d returned to Georgia to finish school, he’d even come down to visit her a couple of times. 

But since she’d graduated she’d returned to Baltimore, which really had become a home away from home. She loved training with Coach Bob, and the other swimmers there. She loved being invited over to Ms. Debbie’s house for family dinners, and that Michael’s sisters treated her like one of their own. And, honestly, she loved seeing Mike more often. So when Mike starts coming over to hang out she doesn’t think anything of it. He’s bored. It’s been three years since London, he’s travelled and partied. He’d lost a fortune in Vegas, only to win it all back plus some, and gone through four different girlfriends since the last Olympic Games. She could understand why he was feeling a little lost, especially with the build-up to Rio really getting started. So if he wanted to hang out with her she didn’t mind. He was just as encouraging, and great to have around, even if when he did show up at the pool it was in board shorts with a pool noodle, instead of in a speedo with a kickboard. 

But soon she gets confused. Michael starts talking about babies, and settling down. One day during a break in practice he asks her what she’d name a baby girl if she had one. She’d thought about it all throughout afternoon workout and then told him Amy, it was short sweet and sort of All-American sounding. He’d asked her the next day what she’d name a boy. She’d tried to put it out of her mind this time, to focus on kick drills and start practice. But she’d ended up flopping down on a pool chair next to him at the end of the afternoon and telling him she’d always liked the name Robert. He’d nodded his head and kissed her on the forehead before walking away, all without saying a word. 

The next day he hadn’t shown up and she’d shared a look with Bob and shrugged her shoulders. Mike would be back whenever he chose to. He’d returned four days later, but he was unusually quiet. 

“Mikey, what is going on? You’re starting to freak me out here,” she says kindly. He’s hiding behind dark sunglasses, and she hates that she can’t see his eyes. 

“Nothing. Just got a lot on my mind,” he’d replied. She’d nodded, stretching out beside him in a lounge chair to work on her tan. He was silent for a few minutes longer before speaking again. “How many kids is a good number, do you think?” he asks. Allison squints at him in the afternoon sun. 

“I don’t know. It depends on the family. You were the youngest of three. I was right smack in the middle of five. But I would think more than two, less than six seems like a good span. Why?” she asks. 

“Just curious,” he replies, sitting back and turning his face toward the sun. 

It is two weeks later that she ends up at Michael’s for a team get-together. There’s minimal drinking going on, just a bunch of the over 18s, hanging out and watching TV, and binging on their last pizza night before Olympic Trials. Mike’s hosting, and paying, so everyone’s having a pretty good time. Allison ends up staying past midnight, to help clean up a little. She watches Chase rub his eyes as he leaves. 

“You’ll be ok?” she asks. “On the drive home?” 

“Yes, Mother, I’ll be fine!” he laughs as he closes the door behind himself. She rolls her eyes and goes to scoop up the pile of dirty paper plates spread across the coffee table. 

“He’s right you know,” Mike says, flopping down on the couch, with an freshly opened beer. “You’re going to be a great mom someday.” Allison shoves the plates into the kitchen garbage can and shoots him a look. “What?” he asks. “You will! It’s a compliment!” 

“Ok, Mike. What the fuck!?” she says, slamming the lid on the trash closed and stomping toward him. “What has gotten into you?” she asks. He blinks at her, looking a little dazed. 

“What do you mean, Schmitty?” he asks. She rolls her eyes, curling up on the other end of the couch facing him. 

“All you have talked about for the last month and a half is babies! It’s starting to really creep me out!” she replies. He frowns. 

“I guess I’m just trying to figure out how to get what I want. You’re good to talk to about this stuff. You don’t make fun of me like Ryan would, or give me an inspirational pat on the back like Brendan or Aaron would,” he explains. Allison sighs, feeling for him. 

“You’re in a weird place, Mike. Everything’s changed a lot in the last three years. It makes sense you’d be a little lost right now,” she reaches out to pat him on the knee. 

“That’s not it. Not really,” he says, pulling himself up into an upright position. He sets his beer down on the newly emptied coffee table. “I know what I want. I’m not lost at all. It’s just getting it that’s proving to be a problem.” Allison stares at him. 

“How can I help you if you don’t tell me what is going on?” she asks. 

“I want a family! I want a wife and a couple of kids. I want to be someone’s husband and get to work being a better Dad than mine was. I want to be in love, and it’s not working. Nothing I try works!” he explains. 

“You just haven’t found the right person yet, Mike. You keep falling for these girls. They’re too young, and self-focused to be wives or mothers. You just have to keep looking. What do you want in a wife?” she asks. He smiles a little self-consciously. 

“She has to be smart. And funny. And she has to lead a healthy lifestyle. I can’t see myself with someone who smokes or isn’t athletic in some way. It would be nice if she was beautiful. She has to understand the importance of family, and how I feel about my mom and my sisters. She has to understand how much I love swimming, and be supportive of that, because that’s never going to go away. She has to be able to get me out of my own head, and make me relax when everything is getting to me. She has to be a good person, kind-hearted, and generous. She has to want to be a mom, of at least 3 or 4 kids. And she has to see me, not just my medal count or my bank balance.” Allison listens to his list, nodding at key parts. 

“You’re going to have a hard time finding a girl who can fit all of that,” she says. She bites her lip. “But you don’t deserve anything less, Mike. You’ll just have to keep searching for her. When the right girl comes around you’ll know! Don’t give up hope,” she encourages. He leans forward, his face turning serious. 

“The thing is I think I have found her,” Mike confides. Allison stares for a moment before laughing with delight. 

“Then why haven’t you done anything about it!?” she asks, then she freezes with sudden understanding. “She’s not married is she!? Oh God, tell me you haven’t fallen for Rebecca! Or Annie! Matt and Ricky would kill you!” she says jumping to her feet. Michael laughs, shaking his head. 

“No! She’s not married!” he replies, grabbing her hand. He pulls her back down, and the mirth leaves his face so suddenly that Allison feels her stomach drop in reaction. “She’s you,” he says quietly. Allison blinks at him, shocked silent. “Allie?” he says hesitantly. 

“What are you talking about, Mike? I’m not any of those things!” she replies, pulling her hand away from his. She crosses her arms across her chest, curling in on herself. 

“You’re all of those things!” Michael replies. “I look at you and I see everything I want. You’re funny, smart, compassionate, and beautiful. You’re strong, healthy, and loving. You see me for me. You love my family as much as your own. You get how much swimming means to me. You’d be a great mom!” she cuts him off. 

“You can’t pick your mate just because someone would make a good parent, Michael. That’s not how it works!” she shouts breathing hard. Michael stands up, and it’s only then that she realizes she’d stood up a second time. 

“You’re not listening, Schmitty,” he says calmly, quietly. She swallows thickly, staring at him. “You’re everything I could possibly want. I’m not messing around. I’m not joking. When I think about settling down, and starting a family, when I picture the rest of my life, you’re the one I see being there beside me,” he reaches for her, hands closing on her arms, to pull her gently closer. “You know I love you, I have for a long time. I just finally realized that the love I had for you goes way beyond friendship.” She blinks at him, completely dumbfounded. 

“I have to go,” she turns out of his grip, and he doesn’t stop her. She grabs her purse and leaves quickly, not even bothering to wait for the elevator. Her heart is pounding as she heads for the stairs. She’s gone down two flights before she comes to a dead stop. 

“OK,” she whispers to herself, leaning against the cinderblock wall. “Mike says he’s in love with me. He wants to what? Date? Get married? Have kids!?” she bends over, bracing her hands on her knees. She takes deep breaths. “This is crazy!” she hisses. “Mike wants to…” she trails off, closing her eyes, and standing up to lean her weight on the wall behind her. “He wants to be with me. And only me,” she says. Suddenly a bubble of happiness fills her from down low in her belly and she starts to smile. “Michael’s in love with me!?” she asks the empty stairwell. A giggle escapes her grinning lips, and suddenly all the fear that had overwhelmed her while standing in Michael’s condo seemed inconsequential. Michael was in love with her and that was nothing short of amazing. Turning she grips the railing of the stairwell and she starts making her way back up. 

When she reaches Michael’s door she’s slightly winded, but giddy with anticipation and amazement. She catches her breath, than stands up straight, putting back her shoulders, reaching up with one hand to check her hair. She bounces twice on her toes, than she reaches up to knock. She knocks twice and waits, schooling her face into a mask of calm. When no answer comes she knocks again. Michael answers after the second time. 

He looks dejected, sad, and he stares at her in obvious shock. 

“Schmitty,” he whispers softly. She stares at him, eyes searching his face. She clears her throat. 

“Babies are great. And I definitely want at least 4, but I’m so not in a good place right now, the year before the Olympics to be thinking about them just yet. Maybe in a year or two we can talk about it again. And I was planning to try for 2020, too, so you’ll just have to be patient and factor that into the timeline. And I’m ok with you taking off for parts unknown when you get the travel bug, but I swear to God, Mike if you disappear on me with no notice, and no explanation, I will be so done, it’s not even funny,” she explains all in one long breath. The smile that slides across his face makes her heart beat faster. 

“Yeah?” he asks. She nods. 

“Yeah. I’m willing to give this a try if you are,” she says quietly. He holds out a hand to her, and she takes it, slowly and carefully. 

“I love you,” he whispers, walking backward into the living room. She steps in after him, letting the front door close behind her. 

“I love you, too,” she replies. He pulls her closer, and she winds her arms around him in a full bodied hug that puts them in contact from chest to knees. She looks up at him, and he reaches up to brush a curl of hair off the side of her face. Leaning forward, he presses his mouth to hers, and they fit together perfectly, just like she was hoping they would. It’s an electrifying kiss, and it means so much more to her knowing that it’s Michael and that he loves her. He loves her just as much as she loves him. 

Babies can wait. For the next little while she just wants to enjoy having Michael, for the first time ever, as all hers.


End file.
